Hand apparatus for controlling brakes and accelerators



Jan. 15, 1957 w. M. ENGBERG ET AL 2,777,335

I HAND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING BRAKES ANDYACCELERATORS Filed Oct. 4, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

INVENTORS WILLIAM M. ENGBERG WILLIAM D. WELLS 1957 w. M. ENGBERG ETAL 2,77

HAND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING BRAKES AND ACCELERATORS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 4, 1954 FIG. 4

INVENTORS WILLIAM M. ENGBERG WILLIA 1957 w. M. ENGBERG ETAL 2,777,335

HAND APPARATUS FOR CONTROLLING BRAKES AND ACCELERATORS Filed Oct. 4, 1954 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTORS WILLIAM M. ENGBERG WILLIAM D. WELLS KWS United States ate'nt HAND APPARATUS-TOR 3CONTRQBLING BRAKES-AND ACCELERATORS.

This invention--relates to= apparatus adapted -to-be con 1 neeted to the accelerator and biake actuating mechanisms of amautomotive vehicledor' operating such' 'meehanisms by handwhile avoiding interference I with =the normal operation thereof 1 by the usual foot pedal's one object 'of the' invention is :toprovidmovel ap parajtus=of the above-character having -'a "single m'anually movable :control memberv operable selectively to aotuate the vehiele brake and-accelerator either individually orsimultaneously.

Thehinvention also resides in the* novel and sin iple characterof the structure which "is readily adaptable to difirent vehicles andds located outof 'thew'ay 210 avoid interference with the pedals.

Other objects and advantages of the invention 1 will become apparent -from= the "following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings;- in which? Figure 1 is aperspective-view of the interior of a -vehi'cleequipped with apparatus embodying the: novel fe"a=- tures of the present invention.

Figs-2 is a fragmentary sectional view takenalong the: line 2 -2 of Fig. 15

Fig: 3 -is "a fragmentary --front elevational View ot: :thet apparatuslooking upwardly and to th'e left-as viewed'lin 1= Fig.1.

Fig 4 is'a sectional view taken along the line 4 -4 of. Fig.6.

Fig: 5 is a fragmentary end elevational vi'ew: of the apparatus looking to'the rightas vieweddn Fig. 11.

In the drawings, the invention is' shown for ptn'po'ses: of illustration embodied in apparatus for controlling the brake and acceleratorpedals 10 "and11'bfan-automotive vehicle by hand while leaving the same accessible for the usual foot operation. Generally, the apparatusmisaoff the typeincluding a bracket 12 adapted to lbe securedtoathe vehicle steering column 13'and having a lever 141311 crumed thereon for bodily swinging movement toward and away from the vehicle floorboard about an axis 15 extending transversely of the steering column. A link 16 pivotally connected at 17 to the lever and at 18 to a plate 19 on the brake pedal 10 and extending longitudinally of the steering column acts in compression to depress the brake pedal when the lever is pushed downwardly away from the operator. The usual brake return 60 spring (not shown) acts through the pedal and the link to return the lever to a horizontal position beneath the steering wheel 20 when downward pressure on the lever is released.

To simplify manual operation of the vehicle brakes and accelerator with apparatus of the above character, the invention contemplates a novel construction of the lever 14 permitting actuation of the brakes and the accelerator either independently of each other or simultaneously in response to movement of a single control element 21. For this purpose, the lever is formed in two parts one of which is a member 22 mounted on the m'ent beingutili zed to oscillate htlie "acceleratori'peda-liffl toward and-away from the vehicle fldorboard 24 by'a connection 25. I

In 'th 'pres'ent' instance-the mounting member" 22' is a bldck "having a hollow arm 26 projeeting rigidly ;there-* fromand horizontally beneath the-steering"Wheel20f A stud ":27- projectin'gtr'om the bracket-'IZ and normal to" the-steering column 13 extends"*tl'iro'ughthe bldck and rotatably supports the block and ,the arm for swinging movement about the lever axis 15,"nuts"28' retainirig the bldck orl' the'stud. The"control elementv2l is 'a shaft telescoping with and extending .thiou'glr the "armZG with itsinner" end"portion 29 journa1ed in and, extending through the block.- At itsotherendfthe"'shaft"'is*rotat ably' rnounte'd onthe arm"26 through the medium of "a flanged collar 30- 'whichis journaledin the: arm and 'is se cured to the shaft and a sleeve 31. The latter is rotatable? on" the'exteriorofthe' arm'and enclosed"by' a tubular cover fifof resilient material pressed on "and friction'ally" gripping the :sleeve-to constitute ahandle:

The-connection 25- *between the ==accelerator pedal 11" '2 and; the control shaft 21" includes a rod 'br' link "33 at adju'st'able length extending between the pedal ancl the outer. end bf anarm fs i which 'projeets rigidly-fromthe shaft" and "cooperates therewith"'to""defir'ie' a"crank. To avoid" longitudinal shiftingof the link "andactuationpf the 33C? celerator during swinging of the lever-14abomFits'aXi-Sf the crank arm is located closelyadjacent the lever axis'15. In" this instance the crank arm-'34 is a fiat bar clamped against a shoulder 35 "on the inner end portion129' of, the? shaft,""*the"shaft*end portion being flattened "as'indicated= at,86'-'and-th"barhaving a'hol'e;37-"*(Figs: 2 and *5) of correspondirig-shapeso that-the two rotate together." To" avoid binding "of the-parts, joints 38and 39 pivot'allyf connecting "opposite ends of the accelerator "lihk 33 i to a plate-itl on-the accelerator pedal 11 and to the outer end of=thecrank "arm=are of the -'bal'lan d'soeket type:'

As in the case-ofthe-aceelerator-link 313), the brake link 16 is adjustable in length and-fithe pi-votail bonne'ction-ls between :th linlci and thel plttte' 19 oniithe brake pedal- 10 isnof thexba'll and socket: types. Ate thezotherlrend sof the= brake when, .the i pivotal connection *17 "with: the i lever: x 14 t comprises a yoke 41: lsec'ured torthe' lever: 'arm 26 adjacent: theshandle'fizandv having -spaeed-legs .:42 astraddlingithe 5 link and spanned by a pin 43 extending through and journaled in the link. Where, as shown, the apparatus is mounted on the steering column with the lever 14 projecting to the'right therefrom, the brake link 16 extends beneath and crosses under the accelerator link 33, both links extending longitudinally of the steering column and adjacent the underside thereof to avoid interference with operation of the pedals by the drivers feet.

Assuming that the apparatus has been mounted on the steering column 13 and connected to the brake and accelerator pedals 10 and 11 as described above, with the lengths of the links 16 and 33 properly adjusted, :the lever 14 will be urged by the brake return spring to a generally horizontal position beneath the steering wheel 20 and the crank arm 34 will be urged by the accelerator return spring to the generally horizontal position shown in full in Fig. 5. To apply the brakes, the operator grasps the handle 32 and moves the same bodily toward the floorboard 24 to swing the lever downwardly and, through the brake link 16, depress the brake pedal 10. During movement of the lever 14 about its axis 15, the outer end of the crank arm 34 swings in an are extending transversely of the accelerator link 33 so that the axial position of the latter and the position of the accelerator pedal 11 remain substantially the same, the ball and socket joints 38 and 39 permitting such movement without binding of the parts.

Actuation of the accelerator is effected simply by turning of the handle 32 and therewith the shaft 21 relative to the member 22 about the second axis 23. Such turning of the handle in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 5 swings the crank arm downwardly as shown in phantom and depresses the accelerator pedal 11, rotation of the handle in the opposite direction raising the pedal. During such rotation, the setting of the lever 14 remains undisturbed. Upon release of the handle, the parts return to their inactive positions described above.

It will be apparent that the novel apparatus described above enables the vehicle operator to control both the accelerator and the brakes with only one hand, the position of which on the handle 32 remains the same so as to require little attention of the operator. The movement of the lever 14 to actuate the brakes is a natural movement of the operator, that is, downwardly toward the floorboard 24. Such movement is the same whether the lever projects to the right of the steering column as shown or the left as permitted by loosening the bracket 12 and changing its position on the column 13. The apparatus is readily adaptable to different vehicles simply by changing the position of the bracket on the column and the lengths of the links 16 and 33, the ball and socket joints 18, 38, and 39 on the links permitting variation in the angles of these parts relative to the crank arm 34 and the pedals 10 and 11 of different vehicles without binding of the parts.

We claim as our invention:

1. In apparatus for controlling the brakes and accelerator of a vehicle, the combination of, a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the steering column of the vehicle, a member mounted on said bracket to swing bodily about a first axis extending transversely of said column, said member including a rigid hollow arm projecting outwardly from said axis and beneath the Vehicle steering wheel, a shaft journaled on said member and extending through said hollow arm from the projecting end of the latter to a point beyond the other end thereof, said shaft cooperating with said member to define a lever swingable toward and away from the vehicle floorboard, a rod pivotally connected at one end to the projecting end portion of said hollow arm and adapted at its other end to be connected to the vehicle brake pedal for depressing the latter by swinging the lever including the arm toward said floorboard, a crank arm projecting rigidly from said shaft adjacent said other hollow arm end, a rod pivotally connected at one end to said crank arm and adapted to be connected at its other end to the vehicle accelerator pedal for depressing the latter by turning said shaft relative to said member, and a handle journaled on said projecting lever arm end and secured to the adjacent end of said shaft for swinging said lever bodily and for rotating said shaft relative to said member.

2. In apparatus for controlling the brakes and accelerator of a vehicle, the combination of, a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the steering column of the vehicle, a member mounted on said bracket to swing bodily about a first axis extending transversely of said column, a shaft journaled on said member for rotation about a second axis extending transversely of said column and said first axis, a crank arm projecting rigidly from said shaft adjacent said first axis, said shaft cooperating with said member to define a lever projecting from said first axis and beneath the vehicle steering wheel and swingable toward and away from the vehicle floorboard about the first axis, an elongated first element connected at one end to the projecting end portion of said lever and adapted at its other end to be connected to the vehicle brake pedal for depressing the latter and applying the brakes by swinging of the lever toward said floorboard, a second element adapted at one end to be connected to the vehicle accelerator, and a ball and socket joint connecting said crank arm and the other end of said second element for converting rotary motion of said shaft to oscillating mt tion of the element while avoiding binding of these parts.

3. In apparatus for controlling the brakes and accelerator of a vehicle, the combination of, a mounting bracket adapted to be secured to the steering column of the vehicle, a member mounted on said bracket to swing bodily about a first axis extending transversely of said column, a shaft journaled on said member for rotation about a second axis extending transversely of said column and said first axis, said shaft projecting at one end beneath the vehicle steering wheel and cooperating with said memher to define a lever fulcrumed on said first axis, an accelerator element connected to said shaft adjacent said first axis and adapted to be connected to the vehicle acc'elerator for actuating the latter by turning the shaft about said second axis, and a second element connected to said lever adjacent said projecting shaft end and adapted for connection to the vehicle brakes for actuation of the latter by swinging the lever about said fulcrum thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Whitney July 3, 1900 

